Keynote – 2016 Mental Health in Schools (MHIS) Conference, Sydney, Australia

Developing Emotional Resilience Through Mindful Self-Compassion

Presenter: Kristy Arbon

Mindfulness offers a stable platform from which we can observe our experience non-judgmentally. Self-compassion provides the emotional strength and resilience needed to offer ourselves the same kindness and understanding we would offer a good friend, especially in the face of difficult emotions. With self-compassion we can motivate ourselves with encouragement, forgive ourselves when needed, face and befriend our shortcomings, and live more authentically. Research shows that self-compassion is strongly associated with emotional well-being, lower levels of anxiety and depression, healthy habits such as diet and exercise, and more satisfying personal relationships. And self-compassion is a skill that can be learned and cultivated by anyone through the Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) program designed by Christopher Germer, PhD and Kristin Neff, PhD in the US. During this keynote we will: define self-compassion; talk about misgivings in beginning to be more self-compassionate; look at research findings including findings from a pilot study of an adaptation of the MSC program for teens in the States; distinguish between self-compassion and self-esteem; explore the physiology of self-criticism and self-compassion; and learn some brief self-compassion practices.